{"id":1128815,"date":"2026-08-03T23:52:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1128815\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T23:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T23:52:16","slug":"quade-cooper-why-the-manie-libbok-argument-falls-flat-for-wallabies-veteran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1128815\/","title":{"rendered":"Quade Cooper: Why the Manie Libbok argument falls flat for Wallabies veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quade Cooper might want one last shot at playing in a World Cup, but he\u2019ll quickly need to convince some figures in Australia<\/a> that he\u2019s worth signing on a short-term deal for his dream to become a reality.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Planet Rugby understands there currently isn\u2019t an appetite from an Australian Super Rugby club to sign the 38-year-old.<\/p>\n

That, of course, wouldn\u2019t stop Les Kiss from picking Cooper, given Rugby Australia\u2019s eligibility policy would allow the new Wallabies three picks from overseas, but it might make it harder to convince him that he\u2019s the best person to lead them to a World Cup final.<\/p>\n

Cooper<\/a> might respond by saying if it\u2019s good enough for Rassie Erasmus to pick Manie Libbok from Japan\u2019s second division, it should be good enough for Kiss to pick the Wallabies<\/a> veteran.<\/p>\n

But the difference is Libbok is wearing the No.10 jersey at Kintetsu, whereas Cooper has a whistle around his neck and is one of the club\u2019s coaches. His last match, in fact, was May 2025.<\/p>\n

As such, the first step for Cooper to be considered would be to sign with a club or get back on the field for Kintetsu. Perhaps Will Harrison\u2019s departure to Munster might allow that to happen.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what Cooper\u2019s motivation is for announcing that he \u201cnever retired\u201d and wanted another crack at playing in a World Cup<\/a>, but the homecomings of Bernard Foley and James O\u2019Connor might well have flicked a switch inside. He might even be the best of the trio.<\/p>\n

Quade Cooper backed by SA Rugby boss after stunning Wallabies hint ahead of Rugby World Cup<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Either way, with Foley to be unveiled at the Waratahs this week and O\u2019Connor moving closer to penning a deal at the Western Force, positions and money are running dry in Australian rugby. That\u2019s what happens when there\u2019s just four Super Rugby franchises to pick from.<\/p>\n

The Brumbies are happy with Declan Meredith and Tane Edmed running the cutter and have a couple of players rising through the ranks in Oscar Shaw and Chase Oates. While the Reds only have a Wider Training Squad spot available, with Wallabies Carter Gordon and Tom Lynagh on their books as well as the impressive Finn McKay.<\/p>\n

The other Wallaby Australia\u2019s Super franchises should look at<\/p>\n

There might be few spots available across most Super Rugby<\/a> franchises, but the coach-less Waratahs have plenty of positions to fill and they should be mining for gold in club competitions, including the Shute Shield.<\/p>\n

That includes at Randwick, where long-time Wallaby Andrew Kellaway is currently carving up but isn\u2019t contracted to a Super Rugby franchise next year.<\/p>\n

While the 30-year-old was considering retiring, he showed against Manly last weekend that he\u2019s no spent force despite missing out on Joe Schmidt\u2019s Test squad in July.<\/p>\n

He scored twice and set up another try with a stunning out-the-back flick pass.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the only World Cup Wallaby in Randwick\u2019s squad either, with Isi Naisarani building some consistency for the Galloping Greens in 2026.<\/p>\n

The back-rower was one of Randwick\u2019s best, and while strength and conditioning coaches have questioned his durability, the 2019 World Cup member remains capable and someone worth re-examining, especially for a Waratahs side that needs some more ball-carries.<\/p>\n

Could Michael Cheika, who is in the mix to become Dan McKellar\u2019s replacement, be the coach to lure them back to the professional ranks?<\/p>\n

Wallaby Kiss must invest in<\/p>\n

He sat in the stands throughout July, but new Wallabies coach Kiss must speed up the development of Charlie Cale and put the loose-forward on his bench against Japan.<\/p>\n

Ex-All Blacks coach highlights areas of focus as he aims to improve Wallabies\u2019 defence<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

The 25-year-old is one of the most exciting talents in Australian rugby. A genuine game-changer, who is a point-of-difference player. He\u2019s Australia\u2019s version of Henry Pollock.<\/p>\n

Although he might not be as physical as Pollock, Cale\u2019s taller and hugely effective at the lineout. He\u2019s as quick, if not sharper than the England loose-forward too.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also the perfect person to bring off a bench in Japan in August, where conditions are hot and humid and someone like Cale could burst the game open if given an inch.<\/p>\n

With Nick Champion de Crespigny left out, Kiss shouldn\u2019t look past Cale\u2019s versatility and game-changing ability off the bench against Eddie Jones\u2019s Japanese. A Cale and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto combination would give the Wallabies a better balance and some serious potency off the bench \u2013 aspects Schmidt\u2019s benches often lacked.<\/p>\n

Forgotten Wallaby Kiss should bring back<\/p>\n

With Len Ikitau sidelined, Kiss is likely to return to Hunter Paisami in the No.12 jersey to take on Japan in Osaka on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Paisami\u2019s expected return comes despite the midfielder playing through the pain of a knee issue he picked up during Super Rugby against the Drua. The only other option is Isaac Henry, who has impressed many recently but is uncapped.<\/p>\n

But the time has come for Kiss \u2013 and Rugby Australia for that matter \u2013 to dial up Samu Kerevi and plot out a path of reintroducing the centre to the Wallabies environment.<\/p>\n

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n

Kerevi, 33, still has plenty to give and is back to his best after a slower than hoped couple of years following his devastating ACL injury suffered for Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n

While Kerevi was rushed back to feature at the 2023 World Cup, he really didn\u2019t get back to his best until over the past 12 months.<\/p>\n

Kerevi offers something most international sides have and the Wallabies don\u2019t: size, power, experience and poise.<\/p>\n

One year out from the World Cup, the Wallabies need to find another option or two in the midfield, especially in case anything happens to Ikitau ahead of next year\u2019s tournament on home soil.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Ex-England duo name FOUR Springboks in the current top 10 players in the world: \u2018No way anyone\u2019s agreeing with that\u2019<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quade Cooper might want one last shot at playing in a World Cup, but he\u2019ll quickly need to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1128816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4102],"tags":[186,29981,126,225,90462,12,43223,68837,4151,79,10264,16,15,12988,33491],"class_list":["post-1128815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-australia","tag-brumbies","tag-features","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-news","tag-quade-cooper","tag-queensland-reds","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-super-rugby","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-waratahs","tag-western-force"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117034270592057213","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1128815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1128815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1128815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1128816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1128815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1128815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1128815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}